


All That Towers is Not Scary

by TheSwiftWind



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: First Meeting, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-10 17:45:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18665290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSwiftWind/pseuds/TheSwiftWind
Summary: Reimi is feeling tired as all heck, but she's got one more job to handle before heading home... and it involves heading down to the Domain's forge where a certain blacksmith works... but is he really as scary as he seems?





	All That Towers is Not Scary

**Author's Note:**

> Good golly gosh, this took longer to get out than I want it to lol. Blame life and motivation.  
> Anywho! I've been wanting to write this out not only for myself, but for a friend too. I love a bunch of her OCs and this fic features one of them! 
> 
> Reimi belongs to me and Branik belongs to @VideoDame (go check her out and support her, her art is amazing)

The Domain was winding down as the day slowly turned to the early rays of night. Most Zora were settling down to relax for the night and Reimi was one of them as she yawned. She had herself a busier day than usual with Zora constantly asking her for favors and her help with numerous tasks. All she wanted was to retreat to the comfort of her bed with warm blankets and her adorable pet pig.

 

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you, missy!” a cranky old voice shouted.   
  
Reimi whined to herself as she knew exactly who it was. “Hello, Councilman Muzu,” she answered, trying her best to hide her tired tone. “What can I do for you?”

 

The manta ray sneered as he folded his arms. “You should know by now what I’m going to ask of you, young one.” He pointed to the box full of jewels and metals resting next to his feet.   
  
She immediately gulped. She knew that meant going down to the forge where…  _ he _ was working. “U-um, are you sure no one else can deliver these at the moment? I’m really tired and I’d like to-”

 

“I asked  **_you_ ** specifically, young lady! As the prince’s bodyguard, you are to do as the council or I say! Can’t have you slacking off like you usually do, now can we?” the old Zora cut her off, clearly not wanting to deal with any insubordination.

 

_ Suddenly, the manatee grabbed Muzu by his forefins and pulled him forward with a ticked off look on her normally sweet face. “Now you listen here, you decrepit old fart! I’m this close to drop-kicking your ass to Gerudo Desert if you don’t find some other schmuck to take these to the forge and let me get some rest!” _

 

Oh, how she wished she could live out her daydream of telling Muzu off, but instead she just gave a tired smile and a nod. “O-oh… okay then. I’m really sorry. I’ll get to it then, Sir Muzu.”

 

He groaned and let out an exasperated sigh. “Look, Miss Reimi. I understand you’re still trying to find your calling in this domain. But until you do, you are to follow the orders of the council or of the royalty. Am I clear, young lady?”

 

Reimi knelt down and picked up the box, struggling a moment because of the weight. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir…” She sighed as she started to walk down the pathway that lead to the forge. With each step she took towards the doors, chills were sent up and down her spine.   
  
_ It’s okay, _ she thought. _ Just do what you always do: get in, drop off the jewels, sign the paper then leave. He won’t even notice you’re there. _

 

The small manatee took a deep breath and pushed open the doors with her shoulder. Immediately her senses were assaulted by the sound of metal clanging and the heat emanating from the fire. A slight shiver traveled up her back when she caught sight of the Domain’s blacksmith… Branik.

 

Branik had never given her any trouble in the past, but Reimi couldn’t bring herself to say hello to him. His enormous size coupled with his deep voice made him very intimidating to the manatee who was less than half his size. The lighting now in the forge accented his muscles and his face that showed his determination to finish the weapon he was crafting. By the look of it, it was to be a longsword, held only by the strongest of beings. No doubt it would look magnificent once the blacksmith was through with it.

 

_ Good, he’s busy with an order. _ Reimi held the box of jewels and metals closer to her as she readjusted the small bag on her side containing her own jewels. She gingerly stepped towards the table where she usually left Branik’s deliveries, focusing mostly on the booklet where signatures for the orders were gathered. She noticed the pen she usually used to sign her name wasn’t there and she quickly panicked. 

 

_ Oh Goddess… am I gonna have to ask him where it is? What if he gets mad at me for not knowing where it is? Maybe I can just leave the jewels here without signing. Oh, but he’ll yell at me for not signing and Muzu will have my head for not following proce- _

 

Her thoughts were cut abruptly when she took a misstep and struggled to regain her balance. But the weight of the jewels and metals propelled her forward until she finally fell, the priceless delivery landing with a clatter. “Ah! Ow…” she whimpered as she sat up and rubbed her chin.

 

“What the?!” Branik’s head immediately shot up at the sound and he whipped around to find the small manatee on the floor along with the jewels he needed for his next line of weapons. He put the longsword he was working on to the side and went to Reimi. “What happened?”

 

Reimi looked up and her lavender scales prickled with worry. “I’m-I’m sorry! I didn’t m-mean to drop them!  ”Her eyes watered and the tears she’d been holding back throughout the entire day finally spilled out. “I just… I’m really sorry, Mr. Branik! I just wanted to go home and rest, but everybody just likes to... just…” She kept crying while trying to explain herself, but only sniffled and hiccuped.

 

Branik put his hands up in an effort to calm her down. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m not mad.” He knelt down closer to her and being as gentle as he could, cupped one of her cheeks with his large hand, using his thumb to carefully wipe away her tears. “You alright? That looked like a pretty bad fall.”

 

The manatee lightly gasped at his touch. Rough as his hand felt, it wasn’t terribly uncomfortable to her scales. No, his touch felt more… soothing. She sniffled before answering, “I-I’m okay…” 

 

The larger Zora gave a gentle smile to her. “Here, lemme help you.”

Before Reimi could protest, his calloused hands took hold of her sides as he helped her up off the floor. “Th-thank you, Mr. Branik. I’m really sorry about the mess…”

 

He blinked a bit when she called him Mister again. It didn’t bother him, it just felt… strangely nice. With an awkward laugh, he gave a slight dismissive wave. “It’s alright. And no need for the mister either. It’s just Branik.” The larger Zora mentally hit himself for not thinking about his words more carefully. By now, she must have noticed that embarrassing lisp of his and would soon laugh at it.

 

Except there was no laugh. Instead, there was more of a curious look in her big blue eyes. “Huh… I never knew you had a lisp.”

 

The blacksmith made a small whine as he cringed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah… It’s kind of dumb, really.”

 

Reimi tilted her head and gave a small grin. “I don’t think so. I think it’s kind of cute.” She then realized what she said and blushed. “Ah, I’m not trying to make fun of you, I swear! I’m sorry!”

 

Branik raised his eyebrows in surprise. His lisp… cute? He didn’t think so, but if she thought it was adorable… maybe it might be true? But good Goddess, the girl was easy to fluster. He chuckled and waved his hand again. “It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize. I am curious though… it’s been you that’s been bringing in all my deliveries lately, hasn’t it? I can tell because the recent signatures are smaller than usual. Not to mention more legible…” he grumbled a bit since his main delivery Goron had a habit of using the entire sheet of paper for  _ one _ single signature.

 

The manatee couldn’t help but giggle at the apparent annoyance on Branik’s face. It wasn’t so scary this time, but rather relatable. “I’m glad I could make your job easier then. Sure wish I had that luck for me…” she sighed heavily.

 

He gently tilted her chin up so their eyes could meet as he knelt down. “Sounds like you had a pretty crappy day. You wanna tell me about it? If you’re comfortable sharing, of course.”

 

“I… sure.” She took a deep breath before recounting all that had happened today. “I was only supposed to grab some food from the market for the meeting those stuffy old councilmen were going to have later on. Then they asked me to accompany the prince on his walk around the Domain, which was fine. But then Prince Sidon told me I was free to walk around on my own, so I tried going home to rest for a bit until Marot came to me and asked if I could help carry in some fish for her and Cleff. And after  _ that _ , Tula and Tona kept asking me about things that the prince liked and didn’t like. And then Kayden asked me to help him check the beds at the inns for anything wrong. His wife came afterwards asking me to help her with the dishes from the mess hall!  When I thought I was done for the day, Councilman Muzu came up to me and said I had to deliver these to you, even though I was already exhausted! It just seemed like everyone was piling stuff on me and… and I was too afraid to say no because I thought they would be disappointed in me. Not to mention, the councilmen would call me a slacker for not running errands…”

 

Branik’s brow furrowed at her story. That certainly was a lot of tasks to dump on to the poor girl. “Huh… Reimi, was it?” He waited for her nod to confirm he got her name right. When she did, he continued, “Okay then. It might be your job to run errands, but you shouldn’t let people walk all over you like that. As for Muzu and the councilmen, you really gotta speak up if you’re not feeling at your best to do a job. They might have more status over you, but I’m pretty sure the prince wouldn’t want you running yourself to the ground. I know I certainly wouldn’t,” he admitted.

 

Reimi blinked a bit in surprise at his kind words. He did have a point though; if she ran around trying to please everyone and taking on too many tasks, not only would she run herself ragged, but the work she would be doing would only be half as good if she was lucky. The lavender Zora gave a small smile and nod. “You’re right. I guess that’s something I keep forgetting. Thank you, Mr.- I mean Branik.”

 

The tall male chuckled at her correction. “No problem. We should probably clean up this mess though.” He knelt down and began picking up the various jewels and metals that fell out. What surprised him though were a handful of gems that were already cut. He picked one of them up and examined it. The jewel was still a bit rough, but he could tell there was some work done to the gemstone. “Weird. The Goron never send me jewels like this.”   
  
The manatee’s eyes widened and her face was flushed. “A-Actually… th-those are mine. I c-cut them,” she managed to squeak out, waiting for the dunkleosteus to either laugh or cringe at her sad attempts at jewelry.

 

But there was no laugh or groan. Branik’s eyes perked up at her answer. “Oh, you’re a jeweler?”

 

“A-ah, no. I just, well... “ Reimi just sighed and explained best she could as she scooped up the rest of her semi-cut jewels. “Ever since I was little, I liked making projects and art with flowers, beads, and jewels. I know I’m not that good at it, b-but I’m sure I’ll get it s-someday. Though the gemstones are giving me the most trouble...”

 

The larger Zora smiled and gave a throaty chuckle. It was nice to have someone with a similar interest. “We all have to start somewhere.Tell you what: After my usual work for the day, you can come by the forge and I can show you how to cut gems in different formations like princess and heart. That is, if you want. You don’t have to.” He shifted his eyes to the side. This young lady was under no obligation to visit him, but still it’d be nice to have some company to look forward to after his work.

 

Reimi’s face lit up as she happily gasped at the offer. She couldn’t contain her joy as she stood up and threw her arms around his huge frame in a hug. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! I’d love to learn how to cut them!” She realized her sudden act of affection and pulled back a bit, not breaking the hug just yet. “Ah, um, I mean, sure. I’d really appreciate it, Branik.”

 

The blacksmith was surprised by the hug as his eyes widened a little and a barely noticeable blush dusted his cheeks. Another chuckle rumbled in his chest and he patted her back, his large hand covering the entirety of it. “No problem. Thanks for bringing my deliveries while my usual guy is out.” He placed the rest of Reimi’s jewels in her little cloth pouch. “That should be all of them.” He then stood up, the massive size difference between them now more apparent. “Take care of yourself, Reimi. I hope to see you soon.” He handed her the pen she need to sign off on the delivery and grinned at her one more time before heading back to the longsword he was working on.

 

Reimi signed her name and smiled from earfin to earfin with a blush of her own. “Mmhm! Same to you, Branik!” She left the forge with her steps feeling much lighter and a better mood. Maybe the blacksmith wasn’t all that scary after all. In fact, he was a big sweetheart! She giggled to herself and headed home, eager for the days to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all loved reading this as much as I loved writing it! 
> 
> Kudos and comments are much appreciated! See you next fic!


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